“They shot on all anamorphic lenses, so there’s quite a lot of distortion and organic things going,” said Norris of the Alicia Vikander film “Ex Machina.” “The way they shot everything with sets, the glass and mirrors.”

Anamorphic lenses often stretch and distort images in a standard viewing frame, an ambitious technique for a film with a smaller budget like Alex Garland‘s sci-fi indie.

Not so small? The expenditure for “The Force Awakens,” backed by Lucasfilm and parent company Disney.

The film is drenched in effects, and Guyett said each one came with the question, “Was the image that we were putting on the screens the right kind of image? And would people feel the spirit of those earlier movies?”

On ‘The Martian,” Stammers said time was the scarcest resource. “[The shoot] was particularly challenging because we had a relatively short schedule. Most films I’ve done with [director] Ridley Scott we’ve had about 18 months,” he said.

“Our post schedule got curtailed the first few weeks in, they brought the release date earlier to get away from his movie,” Stammers added, pointing at Guyett.

McBride faced intense pressure to make a CG bear attack look convincing in director Alejandro G. Inarritu’s “The Revenant.” “That was probably the first conversation I had with Alejandro, was about that scene,” McBride said. “If there’s one moment within that scene that doesn’t work, then the movie fails.”

See this and more in TheWrap’s chat with the 2016 Visual Effects Oscar nominees, in partnership with Dolby.

Amidst framed pictures with Evans pals like Michael Jackson, Jack Nicholson, Brett Ratner, and fellow Paramount studio chiefs like Sumner Redstone and Brad Grey, Morgen surveyed the crowd. "It's nice to see so many other documentarians here...campaigning for their own films," he deadpanned. Kirby Dick and Abigail Disney were also on scene.

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Sam Mendes and Harrison Ford stare each other down at the Britannia Awards on October 30. Mendes was honored with the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing presented by The GREAT Britain Campaign and Ford was honored with the Albert R. Broccoli trophy “for worldwide contribution to entertainment.”

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Meryl Street was going right to the top at the Britannia Awards: British Consul General Chris O’Connor. When accepting her award, Streep thanked the British government for giving her several work permits.

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Mark Ruffalo points out the real Michael Rezendes at the Boston premiere of "Spotlight" on Wednesday, October 28. Ruffalo plays the Boston Globe investigative reporter in the buzzy pic out November 6.

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Director Tom McCarthy and Open Road CEO and President Tom Ortenberg made the trip to Boston, after the film's NYC premiere earlier in the week.

Abigail Disney's "Armor of Light," an engaging documentary of Capitol Hill Tea Partiers' far-right evangelical Reverend Rob Schenck's inability to reconcile being "pro-life" and "pro-gun," to the chagrin of his passionate base, had its L.A. premiere at the DGA on Wednesday, October 13. (His constituency thinks the "NRA is a liberal organization," Schenck (far right) said.) Diane Warren (bottom right, with Disney) got an early look before the film opens on October 30.

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The "Truth" comes out....for its Academy screening. Star Cate Blanchett headlined the L.A. reveal of the film on Monday night, October 5. The James Vanderbilt-directed drama with Robert Redford and Elisabeth Moss is a contender tackling Dan Rather's censured report on President George W. Bush's military service. Sony Pictures Classics releases it in NYC and LA on October 16.

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The producers' billing block on the film includes Brett Ratner, Andrew Spaulding, and Doug Mankoff ("Nebraska"). The reception in the lobby featured regular SPC partners Ketel One and STK Out.

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The guestlist for Davis Guggenheim's "He Named Me Malala" L.A. premiere? 7,000 high school aged L.A. girls, who filled the Microsoft Theatre on Tuesday morning September 29 at the event hosted by Megan Chernin's L.A. Fund. Peter Chernin, host Megan Chernin, J.J. Abrams, Katie McGrath, and Gracie Abrams helped kick off the "Girls Build L.A. Challenge" at the event, leading in to October's "Girls Empowerment" month.

John Salangsang (3); Instagram/MTouceda (bottom right)

Later on the same day, Fox Searchlight brought "He Named Me Malala" to a LACMA screening with Film Independent, where the Oscar winning Guggenheim sat down with Elvis Mitchell.

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David Nevins and Brian Grazer (left, center) hosted a private advance screening of Amy Berg's doc "Prophets Prey" at the UTA Theater on the night after the Emmys. Previous Oscar nominee Berg's film, an investigation into Warren Jeffs and the cult of the FLDS, goes in to theaters on Sep. 25 for an Oscar qualifying run.

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"Showtime" family Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell came to the screening. Amy Berg introduces the Showtime Documentary Films production which will come to the cabler on October 10. Bottom right, Exec Producer Brian Grazer

Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Showtime/AP Images

Oscar contenders were pouring out at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival.

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No party for "Black Mass" at TIFF, but Johnny Depp looked intimidating and Amber Heard looked ready for festivities arriving at Monday's premiere in Toronto. With the film opening this Friday, in a non-festival week, it would have likely premiered south of the border on the same night.

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"Spotlight" star Michael Keaton with Anonymous Content's Steve Golin at the two-floor sprawling Soho House party for the ripped from the headlines film getting awards buzz. Vulture called it "The Best Picture Front-Runner".

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Ray Donovan has a word for his "Spotlight" director Tom McCarthy at the Grey Goose hosted after party.

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Anonymous Content main man Michael Sugar and wife Lauren Sugar at the "Spotlight" party. Sugar is a producer on "Spotlight".

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"Juno" pals Jason Reitman and J.K. Simmons reconnected at Simmons' post-premiere party for "The Meddler" at Soho House on Monday, September 14.

Ratner and Rather: The director and the news legend connected at the "Truth" party at Patria.

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Catherine Hardwicke took off her "Miss You Already" baseball hat she had been wearing for Women In Film and Tiffany's panel on Monday, Sep 14. "The Duff" Producer Susan Cartsonis and "Grey Gardens" writer and now "Into the Forest" director Patricia Rozema participated.

WME co-CEO Patrick Whitesell with Jake Gyllenhaal inside Soho House after the "Demolition" premiere on TIFF's opening night. Highly praised, "Demolition" will be looking at Oscars 2017, as it does not arrive in theaters until April 2016.

Cannes hit "Sicario" touched down on Sept. 11 on the west side of the Atlantic. Oscar winner Benicio del Toro leads the cast, which includes Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin. The after party at Soho House was part of Grey Goose's series of high-profile bashes.

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More in Emmys territory than Oscars, the Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott (as well as off-screen bro J.D., left), hosted TIFF honcho Cameron Bailey at the Producers Ball on Friday night of opening weekend.

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Jonathan and Drew Scott taste-test the Level Over and Samsung VR as Oscar contenders filtered through the Samsung space for interviews by Fandango's Dave Karger.

Stephen Lovekin/Variety/REX Shutterstock

Christopher Simon acts like he just married Catherine Hardwicke, whose "Miss You Already" hit the fest.

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The scene inside the Guess Portrait Studio on opening weekend.

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Naomi Watts and Elle Fanning prepare to take a selfie the morning after Fox Searchlight's "Demolition" opening night festivities.

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Fox Searchlight's David Greenbaum with Heather Lind, who plays Julia in "Demolition."